The Signs
by Awesomely Anonymous
Summary: Even though he doesn't say it, the signs he shows that he loves her are unmistakable and impossible to miss. Oneshot. Jibbs.


A/N: Hiya! I know, I know, I haven't updated On The Job in like, a month, even though I promised to upload it asap, but I haven't gotten in written yet. Anyway, OTJ is close to 50 reviews so yayy! *insert party emoji that isn't available on my laptop here* Anyway, this is a little oneshot that I wrote for you guys to (hopefully) enjoy. Also, it's really repetitive, a lot of the sentences start with the same phrase, and I hope you can forgive me for that.

A little background info: Jenny and Gibbs have been together for almost a year since she became Director, but they haven't said that they love each other yet - hence, the story.

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NCIS**

 **ENJOY!**

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It took her a while, but she finally recognised the signs – the tell-tale signs that that told her he was in love with her – and she was in love with him. It was, quite literally, in every physical part of his body, everything he did, the words he said – it was blatantly obvious, and she wished she had realised it sooner.

The first sign was in his eyes, the way he looked at her. It was in the way his ocean blue eyes would soften at the sight of her. It was in the way he looked at her, a look that he gave to her and her only. It was how his eyes lit up instantly at the mention of her name, how he gave her a look that so many women wanted to see reserved for them – but she alone would get it. It was in the way his blue irises darkened when she seduced him – the sign that he desired her, that he was hungry for more of her. It was in the way his eyes blazed angrily at every other man who even dared to _look_ at her a certain way – and those who went so far as to touch her was given the glare he normally reserved for the most heinous criminals. It was in the way his eyes would look at her, hours later at home, and neither would say anything because he knew that she understood why he had been acting so jealous and possessive when she was around other men. It was in the way his eyes filled with relief and joy when she was found at the airport after being kidnapped by James Dempsey, even when every other feature on his face remained as neutral and nonchalant as possible. It was in the way his eyes filled with pain and hurt whenever they fought about something minor that escalated to something major – whenever she said those hurtful words that cut deep into him – and it was in the way his eyes would cast downwards with guilt and after the fight, after he had retaliated with words of his own. It was in the way his eyes filled with longing and love after they made up again, hours, days, weeks later – and even though his lips would never utter the words, his eyes would always apologise. It was in the way they could communicate each other without words, just by looking at each other's eyes. It was in the way his eyes told everything to her.

His eyes, she felt, was the most captivating part of him – they always spoke the truth, even when his lips were telling lies. Those were the eyes that saw past her physical beauty as no other man ever did – those were the eyes that appreciated her beauty, inside and out. She could recognise and detect every emotion that passed through those eyes, and the most recent one she saw – although she did think she was mistaken – was love.

The second sign was in his ears – how they seemed to perk up at the mention of her name. It was in the way he would come running to her the moment she called his name. No matter the tone of her voice – whether she was hurt, weak, scared, happy, angry or seductive (especially when she was seductive) – he would be by her side immediately. It was in the way he alone could recognise when she was about to lose control just by listening to her voice. It was in the way he would be right by her side if she was calling out for help. It was in the way, when she would be woken up in the middle of the night by a nightmare, he would listen to her talking and explaining what had scared her. It was in the way he patiently listened to the countless rants and complains she had about her job or, more accurately, the people she had to deal with because of her job.

His ears were the part of him she was thankful for – for he listened without judging or interrupting. She had never had any past boyfriend who would just want to sit around and listen to her talk about pointless things for a few hours – they would always skip to the bedroom. With Jethro, he would just listen to whatever she had to say, even if the conversation topic was of no importance whatsoever, and she appreciated and was grateful for his ears.

The third sign was in his lips. How he kissed her, smiled at her, said to and about her. It was in the way he smiled at her after a long day at work, as if it was a relief just to look at her. She remembered one time when he was gazing at her as if she was the brightest star in the night sky, and he leaned into her ear and said softly, "You're so beautiful." She remembered giving him a slow, passionate kiss before replying, "How do you do that?" He frowned in conclusion, and she said, "How can you look at me every time as if it's the last time you'll ever see me again?" He gave her a grin and whispered, "It's easy with someone like you."

It was in the way he kissed her after she had been away for a week to a conference somewhere in Europe, a kiss that had been so full of love and passion that it put a happy but tired smile on her face, even when he had made her promise not to be away for so long again. It was in the way he spoke to Ducky after she had been kidnapped and taken hostage. It was in the rough and harsh words he said to his team when an hour had passed, and they still hadn't found her. It was in the way he kissed her, later that day in private, and said, "You're never leaving my sight again." It was in the way he spoke about her to Ducky again after they'd had a major fight that resulted in her slamming the door in his face. When Ducky asked what they had fought about, he merely gave a sad smile and said, "I just didn't want her to leave me. I said it the wrong way." It was in the way he could immediately soothe her when she was angry with just the sound of his voice, and in the way he could say anything and be able to calm her down and stop her tears from flowing even more when she was sad. It was in the way he needed to kiss her once in the morning before they did anything else, and once at night before they went to sleep. It was in the way he could say one word and it could heal any wound she had deep inside her, and mend the occasional crack in her heart whenever they fought.

His lips were the part of him she found herself constantly craving for, whether it was a kiss, or just for him to talk to her. The words that came out of his mouth was always those that she needed to hear- even when she didn't want to hear it.

The fourth sign was in his body – in his hands, arms and legs. It was in the way he held her in his arms after a nightmare, whispering soothing words in her ear to calm her down, while his hands stroked her hair gently. It was in the way he touched her cheek gently and rubbed away her tears with the back of his hand. It was in the way he cradled her face gently in his hands as he leant in to kiss her. It was in the way he held his arms out wide, and without her asking, welcomed her into his arms when he knew she needed a hug. It was in the way he would just hold her in his arms at night, afraid to let go for fear that if he did, some invisible force would come and take her away from him. It was in the way he held her hand all throughout her stay in the hospital after a particularly nasty car accident, even when she was unconscious. It was in the way he touched every inch of her after she had been kidnapped, making sure she hadn't been hurt at all by the gun or knife of James Dempsey. It was in the way, after the entire La Grenouille ordeal, after explaining everything to him, he held her tightly and made her promise there wouldn't be any secrets between them again. It was in the way he reached for her in the middle of the night while having a nightmare, held her tightly to him and cried, "I'm not gonna lose you again." It was in the way, after an especially terrible fight, while she was storming away, he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to turn around with his hands and kissed her passionately. It was in the way he slowly tilted her head so he could look into her eyes, his fingers gently caressing her skin as he slowly leant in for a kiss. It was in the way he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with his, pulling her in closer as he lead them in a slow dance to music no one else but them could hear. It was in the way he held her in a warm embrace as she cried after a long day of losing three agents in her field – three agents she had been particularly fond of. It was in the way he went running to her the moment she called for his help, when she put on that tone she knew that he couldn't deny her anything. It was in the way his feet would hurry every time they were going to meet each other.

It was in the way he knew what she needed even before she knew she needed it.

His body was her haven, her sanctuary. She felt safe while she was near him, in his arms. Nothing could ever hurt her while she was safely in his arms, and she felt safe and secure with him more than she would have had there been an army of men with rifles following her round wherever she went.

But the strongest sign that told her he loved her was when all the parts of him combined; moments like the one she was living in now was the one that made her sure he loved her, and that he was the one for her.

It had been a tiring, stressful, draining day for Jenny, as Jethro had gotten himself locked in a classroom with a bomb that could've gone off at any moment, and she had been worried sick to her stomach. Nobody could find the words to calm her down – and she was determined not to be calmed unless he was standing in front of her again. She pushed her worries aside forcefully and concentrated on doing her job to the best of her ability until he got out of there – and she refused to allow the mere thought that he wouldn't get out alive.

But the moment he had seen her afterwards, after everything had been sorted out and the Kody Meyers' family was reunited, all the worry, stress and anxiety came crashing down again, mixed with a little relief, and she had to physically stop herself from bursting into tears until they had left the building and were in the parking lot.

He sensed that something was wrong with her and immediately went closer to her, sliding his hand into hers. She looked down in surprise at their hands as his thumb started rubbing the back of her hand in small circles, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He leant down and pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.

"Jen," he whispered, his voice cutting through the silent, cold night air. "What's wrong?"

She bit down on her lip as her eyes welled up with more tears; she looked down as they continued to walk towards her car, mentally trying to find the words to tell him that nothing was wrong without lying to him. He cast her a worried look and stopped her from taking another step by blocking her way and standing right in front of her.

"Jethro," she whispered softly, still looking down. Her voice shook slightly, and his worry heightened. "I just wanna go home, okay?"

She willed her tears to stay in her eye lids but they betrayed her when he placed a hand under her chin and gently pushed her head up so their eyes met. Worry and concern filled his eyes when he saw the tears. She closed her eyes at the intensity of his gaze, swallowing gently and pressing her lips tightly together. It only made the tears fall down even more.

Softly, he brought his hand up to brush her tears away, the contact warming her skin. She made a content noise, leaning her face down on his hand. Without another word, he stepped forward and pulled her into a warm, tight embrace; she cried silently onto his shoulder as his hands stroked her back.

"Jenny, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." He said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. Seeing her cry like this – he had never seen her cry this hard before, the last time she actually saw her cry was when he got shot in Positano nine years ago. He wanted desperately to stop her tears, but he couldn't – not if she wouldn't tell him what was hurting her.

" _You."_ Her voice was soft and full of pain.

He looked down at her, frowning in confusion – what had he done? Surely, nothing that would make her cry _this_ hard, right?

The realisation only hit him when he realised – _the last time he saw her cry when he got shot in Positano._

"I was stuck here all day, trying to help in every way I could, making sure in every way possible that you would get out of that classroom alive – it terrified me, Jethro. I was worried, I was anxious and I never wanted to see you so badly when I knew I couldn't – and I couldn't do anything – _anything_ – but watch from the sidelines." Her eyes welled up in tears again as she relived the terrifying moments where she thought he wouldn't be able to make it out of there alive.

He watched her, deciding not to say anything until she was finished letting everything out. Slowly, he reached for her hand and held it gently in his.

"And I couldn't talk to anyone else without them knowing about our relationship, and even though I forced myself to stop thinking about it, I can't hold out forever – " she looked up at him, and he saw her eyes spilling with tears, collecting on her chin. "What if you died there? What if that bomb had gone off, and I hadn't even told you that I – I –"

She faltered, looking down – this was _not_ how she imagined telling him, nor did she imagine she would be the one saying it first – but since she had already gotten this far, there was no point in stopping, right?

He waited patiently, knowing what was about to come – he always thought he'd be the one saying it first, but he'd missed his chance a few weeks ago, when she got kidnapped, and he'd settled for a "You're not leaving my sight again." He'd been waiting for his chance – perhaps he should just say it first?

"I love you." Too late, she had already beaten him to it. She whispered the words softly, as if afraid that everyone else in the world could hear her secret. "And I was so afraid of losing you."

"I know you love me." He replied softly. "And you don't have to be afraid of losing me, I promise. I'm not leaving your side, Jen."

The hand that was holding hers pulled her into his arms, catching her lips and kissing her gently – there was time, they didn't need to rush. He carefully tasted every single inch of her mouth, memorising everything so he had it burned in his memory and he wouldn't ever forget her. He was sure he wouldn't, anyway.

"How did you know?" she asked him, pulling away slightly but keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. "How did you know I loved you?"

"I recognised all the signs." He grinned, shrugging slightly. "You were never really discreet."

She grinned back, though her eyes were still shining with tears. He pressed another soft kiss onto her lips before hugging her tightly, holding her for a few moments before he said,

"By the way, I love you too, Jen. I love you very, _very_ much."

Jenny grinned into his shoulder. She didn't have to read the signs anymore.

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I hope you guys enjoyed that! It's really long, I swear it was only supposed to be around 500 words (the last half of the story wasn't even in my original plan), but as you can see I got a little (okay maybe a lot) carried away. hehe - I hope you can forgive me for the lengthiness.

I've got a couple stories coming up, and I really want your opinions - I have The Break and I Won't Let You Go ready to post, but I haven't decided which one I should post first. Tell me what you think! You can go to my profile for their summaries, or just choose a story which sounds more appealing to you.

Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think about this story!

Have a nice life,

\- Natalia


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